Girls Night On Idol - 2/29/12

Hello. Ryan Seacrest opens our show with the burning question "Is one of these faces the first girl winner we have had in five seasons"? After viewing the show I think that is going to be a bit of a stretch since many of the guys from the night before were so good. Most of our girl contestants are blonde and of course all of them have beauty but I doubt that will be a factor with the voters. Beauty aside I personally did find a few stand-outs in this mix who I actually voted for.

Before we get to the performances let's welcome our judges; Randy Jackson (he is looking awesome I think this season), pretty Jennifer Lopez and of course our loveable Steven Tyler. Then comes the intro to Ryan who let's us know that Scotty McCreery has gone platinum (good for him) and will be appearing in a few weeks. Again we are reminded that only five from each of the top 12 girls and guys will go on in the competition with the judges each picking a wild card to round out the top 13. The same format is followed from the night before with the girls giving us a bit of their hometown thoughts before they perform. Okay girls, let's go:

Country girl Chelsea Sorrell is up first and right off the bat makes a big mistake with her song choice which was "Cowboy Casanova" by our own Carrie Underwood. Not to say it was horrible but frankly there was just no excitement whatsoever with this performance. She has a decent voice but I was finding myself thinking when is this going to end. The judges were not inspired either. JLo mentions she sounded "nasally" while Steven thinks she needs to watch her phrasing. Randy mentions how they were a little easy on the guys performances from the night before but does say Chelsea can sing but the song choice was not a good one since we have already had the Carrie thing. My grade: B

Mobile DJ Erika Van Pelt chooses to sing Heart's "What About Love". Frankly I was kind of disappointed with this performance. Sure Erika can sing but all along I compared her to the power singer Ann Wilson and found her lacking. Overall just okay in my book. Jennifer mentions her power voice and suggests she loosen up a bit. Randy likes her confidence. Steven however feels it was magical and thinks she nailed it. My grade: B

Looks like the artist Adele is greatly favored by our group this season. Jen Hirsh is the first to sing one of her songs on this night. She picks "One and Only". Again I am thinking this was the wrong song choice because we have heard Jen sing better prior to this night. It was okay but the big note was the best part of this performance. Randy thinks Jen can sing great runs, Steven likes her confidence and Jennifer feels she is one who let loose and calls it beautiful. My grade: B

Brielle Von Hugel has been featured alot during this process but not in a good way since her mom has also been shown just as much as Brielle. I personally did not care for this rendition of Otis Redding's "Sitting On The Dock of The Bay". It was overdramatic all the way with Brielle starting her song amongst the guys in a too-low voice to her standing and trying to dance as she yelled the lyrics. I was surprised the judges were so complimentary. Steven mentions her great sense of the blues, JLo calls her a true performer and Randy while mentioning the low part in the beginning does like her swag. Sorry but I was not inspired at all. My grade: D

I liked Hallie Day right away in her audition but we have seen little of her until tonight. Another wrong song choice as she sings "Feeling Good". I kept thinking how great Adam Lambert did this song and this might be the kiss of death for pretty Hallie. While this young lady can sing I thought I detected a few pitchy notes along the way. I agreed with Jennifer that she did have some beautiful moments in the song. Steven liked her old-fashion, old-timey way. Randy however questioned what type of artist she hoped to be even though he thought she was great. My grade: B-

I can't believe I am saying this since I am not fond of country but Skylar Laine is the first of the girls who made me stand up and take notice. This country lady picks the song "Stay With Me" by the Faces and gives us a very energetic and almost Tina Turner like performance. I really liked it even though she sounded kind of breathless in parts. Randy calls her a so-good rocking country girl. Jennifer loves her swag and Steven feels she was on fire and to keep it up. My grade: A

After such a great performance by Skylar, Baylie Brown deflates the moment with her performance of "Amazed" by Lonestar. She never quite got control of the song as mentioned by Randy and has alot of off-key notes. Both Steven and JLo mention the control plus Steven adds it was not a good song choice. I really thought this was bad. My grade: D

Now I am happy again as Hollie Cavanagh sings the difficult song "Reflections" by Christina Aguilera. Funny I could actually hear some of Christina as she sang. Who would have guessed this little girl had such a big voice. She had a few off-notes but I truly see alot of potential with this young 18 year old. Steven obviously did not hear the off-notes because he calls her perfect. Jennifer comments on how strong her voice is while Randy says she is one of his favorites. Sure hope this girl makes the top five (I voted for her). My grade: B+

What a disaster as Haley Johnson takes the stage to sing The Eurythmics song "Sweet Dreams". She sort of makes it her own but her notes are way too low and she practically shouts out her big notes. I am sure Annie Lennox is cringing on this performance. What I did like was the stage setting with the eyes and of course Haley looked amazing. JLo mentions that Haley does have skills but this song did nothing to show them. Steven thinks she pulled it through. However it is Randy who I most agree with as he says this performance was a bit of a nightmare instead of a dream. My grade: D

16 year old Shannon Magrane has been featured alot (maybe because her dad is baseball great Joe Magrane). Her choice of song tonight is "Go Light Your World" by Kathy Troccoli. Not to say it was bad but I found the whole performance rather boring. She was okay but not great in my opinion. Randy mentions her big voice and feels she came out swinging. Jennifer thinks she sang with passion. Steven mentions he liked how she started out gospel and took it up a knotch for him. Sorry judges but this pimping does not impress me. My grade: B

Little Jessica Sanchez has had swollen vocal chords all week and could not do her rehearsal. Who would have guessed considering she gives a great performance to the song "Love You I Do" by Jennifer Hudson. A few off-notes but I really think this girl is one to watch, I liked it. So did the judges who give her a standing ovation. Randy says this girl can really sing. Jennifer mentions her attitude and swagger. Steven says her timing was exceptional and I so agree. My grade: B+

Another favorite of mine is Elise Testone and she does not disappoint with her rendition of Adele's "One and Only". Un-like Jen Hirsh, Elise starts off her number playing the piano and sings with a smokey and bluesy voice. You could actually see she was getting emotional towards the end of the song as it affected her that deeply. Steven thinks she blew it out of the water. Jen mentions the emotion and how special her tone is. Randy also likes the bluesy, smokey version she did. My grade: A

So there you have our night of girl singers. Some real stand-outs for sure and I hope your picks from the night fare well in the voting. Currently my favorites of the night are Hollie Cavanagh, Skylar Laine, Jessica Sanchez and Elise Testone.

One bad note however is I honestly do not think it was appropiate of Ryan to question the judges on their favorites of the guys. So un-fair to those that were not mentioned. However, on tonight's results show we will see how the voters picked. Be back later with that re-cap.

OMG, I do think Skylar Laine is going to be my favorite girl since Crystal Bowersox in season 9. She is spunky and has an awesome tone to her voice. Reminded me a little bit of Reba McIntyre. Although most of the other performances were good, I got bored quickly. No one else blew me away like Skylar did.